Keeping fish in pairs and groups

[o2manyfish]

When I bought the pair of wild Frimandi they were in a bag together and had just arrived in the states. I acclimated them and put them in the tank and they made a home under a giant pillar rock in the center of the tank. They only come out from under the rock to eat, and they feed off the back side of the rock.

Frimandi are one of my favorite fish, and here I have two that I never get to see.

So then I bought 2 more that were not 'paired'. They moved into the rock that I have mounted on the back wall of my tank. They live at the very bottom, and only come out when there is an abundance of food.

So sadly with four Frimandi I never really get to see much of any of them.

Dave B

 

[shifty99]

O2- How did you pair your blue tangs or did you purchase them as a pair? Size when you got them? Any way to tell their sex? Just curious as I would like to try pairing them but have not seen much info on them.

 

[o2manyfish]

Shifty, With these two that I have had now for a little over a year, I purchased 3 that were 3.5" out of a tank for 25+. They went in the tank and acted very weird for 2-3 weeks. They didn't come out at all and they didn't feed and were super skittish when they did come out. At that point in time they were the largest tangs, and nobody was paying them any attention. After several weeks 2 of them came around and the third didn't make up. I went back to where I had bought them and they told me they had lost that entire tank. I have had many blue tangs over the years and these were very weird when they came in.

Now they are a normal pair of hippos. They are about 5". They are a little bit smaller than my Achillies, and there is no agression issues amoungst any of them.

Dave B

 

[Dmorty217]

Who has pairs of Achilles tangs, or rare pairs of fish

 

[velvetelvis]

Well, it appears I bragged too soon. I had to go out of town for a sleep study last night. Before I left, I noticed that the smaller watchman goby was hiding in a corner of the tank, looking listless. I hadn't seen her near the other goby or the shrimp for a few days. I was a little concerned, but didn't have time to investigate. When I got home tonight, I found her dead in the same corner. They were getting along fine before--I have no idea what went wrong.

 

[Dmorty217]

Sorry to hear you lost your female watchman

 

[rlpardue]

So I'm gearing up for a LiveAquaria order and want to add some little gobies.

Are red-headed gobies (Elacatinus puncticulatus) hermaphroditic? I searched for 30 mins on MBI and other sites and still couldn't find an answer...

 

[stuifbol]

I have a pair of Halichoeres Rubricephalus if that's rare enough for you:lolspin:

Who has pairs of Achilles tangs, or rare pairs of fish